List of Contributors
Preface
List of Institutional Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Sauropod Biology and the Evolution of Gigantism: What Do We Know? / Marcus Clauss
Part 1. Nutrition
2. Sauropod Feeding and Digestive Physiology / Jürgen Hummel and Marcus Clauss
3. Dietary Options for the Sauropod Dinosaurs from an Integrated Botanical and Paleobotanical Perspective / Carole T. Gee
4. The Diet of Sauropod Dinosaurs: Implications of Carbon Isotope Analysis on Teeth, Bones, and Plants / Thomas Tütken
Part 2. Physiology
5. Structure and Function of the Sauropod Respiratory System / Steven F. Perry, Thomas Breuer, and Nadine Pajor
6. Reconstructing Body Volume and Surface Area of Dinosaurs Using Laser Scanning and Photogrammetry / Stefan Stoinski, Tim Suthau, and Hanns-Christian Gunga
7. Body Mass Estimation, Thermoregulation, and Cardiovascular Physiology of Large Sauropods / Bergita Ganse, Alexander Stahn, Stefan Stoinski, Tim Suthau, and Hanns-Christian Gunga
Part 3. Construction
8. How to Get Big in the Mesozoic: The Evolution of the Sauropodomorph Body Plan / Oliver W. M. Rauhut, Regina Fechner, Kristian Remes, and Katrin Reis
9. Characterization of Sauropod Bone Structure / Maïtena Dumont, Anke Pyzalla, Aleksander Kostka, and Andras Borbély
10. Finite Element Analyses and Virtual Syntheses of Biological Structures and Their Application to Sauropod Skulls / Ulrich Witzel, Julia Mannhardt, Rainer Goessling, Pascal de Micheli, and Holger Preuschoft
11. Walking with the Shoulder of Giants: Biomechanical Conditions in the Tetrapod Shoulder Girdle as a Basis for Sauropod Shoulder Reconstruction / Bianca Hohn
12. Why So Huge? Biomechanical Reasons for the Acquisition of Large Size in Sauropod and Theropod Dinosaurs / Holger Preuschoft, Bianca Hohn, Stefan Stoinski, and Ulrich Witzel
13. Plateosaurus in 3D: How CAD Models and Kinetic-Dynamic Modeling Bring an Extinct Animal to Life / Heinrich Mallison
14. Rearing Giants: Kinetic-Dynamic Modeling of Sauropod Bipedal and Tripodal Poses / Heinrich Mallison
15. Neck Posture in Sauropods / Andreas Christian and Gordon Dzemski
Part 4. Growth
16. The Life Cycle of Sauropod Dinosaurs / Eva-Maria Griebeler and Jan Werner
17. Sauropod Bone Histology and Its Implications for Sauropod Biology / P. Martin Sander, Nicole Klein, Koen Stein, and Oliver Wings
Part 5. Epilogue
18. Skeletal Reconstruction of Brachiosaurus brancai in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin: Summarizing 70 Years of Sauropod Research / Kristian Remes, David M. Unwin, Nicole Klein, Wolf-Dieter Heinrich, and Oliver Hampe
Appendix: Compilation of Published Body Mass Data for a Variety of Basal Sauropodomorphs and Sauropods
Index